Diseases of the Digestive System (K00-K93) were the underlying cause of death for 130 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in 2011, which accounted for 5.4% of deaths.

The most common type of digestive disease that contributed to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander deaths were Diseases of the liver (K70-K76), with 91 deaths in 2011. The age standardised death rate for Diseases of the liver was almost five times higher (rate ratio of 4.8) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians compared with non-Indigenous Australians (29.2 per 100,000 and 6.1 per 100,000, respectively).